Insanely Awe-dical

Call of Duty has already won a handful of GOTY awards, and I haven't heard anything short of incredible-ness this game has achieved.  To be perfectly honest, I have grown tired of the FPS genre tauting awards and dominating the gaming scene, with it's Halos, Gears of War, Quakes, Unreals, Far Crys, and Call of Dutys.  I would say that I'm relatively jaded when it comes to FPS games, and I'm not seeing much new anymore (save for the brilliant FPS puzzler, Portal).

Enter Call of Duty 4: <strong>Modern Warfare</strong>.  No sci-fi or outer space theme, and no historical war theme - this already sets itself apart from Halo, Gears, Quake, Unreal, Call of Duty 1-3, Medal of Honor, and so many other FPS games that I don't really care about any more. 

My FPS experience is fairly limited - I've played my handful of Quake, Unreal, and Halo (single player only).  The <strong>only</strong> FPS single-player campaign I have ever finished is Call of Duty 1.  I didn't realize it but I had a natural attraction to it's presentation - theatrical, intense, and the visceral feeling of the battlegrounds that I feel is missing from run-and-gun action-styled Halo or slower-paced Half-life.  The bombs, the grenades, the helicopter support, the myriad of weapons per scenario, the mission introductions and ever-changing mission objectives - it's an intensity that keeps me on my toes.  The missions swapped between different fronts of the battle, and all of a sudden, my commanding officer had a different accent and a different taste of the battle - it was all-encompassing, and I expected no less from CoD4. 

I picked up CoD4, and was instantly impressed.  The opening video expanded the game to the current world and really pumped me up.  CoD1 used the soldier's diary to open the mission, but this one uses a nice mission briefing and on-screen maps complete with intel pictures to really set up the scene of the mission.  The loading screen is actually a full-time video of these sort of briefings and screens, and I couldn't be more occupied while the game was loading. 

The opening mission holds you by the hand, as you are the newest member of the troop.  The team is very vocal, and really gives you an authentically-led British SMS group as they attack a ship on a stormy night.  The gameplay and controls handle extremely gracefully and you're given a nice easy level to introduce you to all the controls.  The first level ends rather cinematically, with a daring escape from a capsizing ship.  As you escape, the ship begins to tilt and your point-of-view tilts as well, The hull bursts and waters gushes, and you are forced to run for your life to escape, culminating in a dramatic jump for the helicopter.  God of War 2 did this same sort of idea - where the first level is one of the most enthralling and scene-setting levels in the whole game.  After that, I knew I was in for a treat. 

CoD4 has some tactical (covering fire, cover-shoot-moveup) and some non-stop action - it's cinematic flair is unmatched, and I could hardly breathe normally during some levels.  The types of level shift fairly often, one gives you gunship access, another is a sniping mission, another has you shooting a gun from a running jeep.  You never feel the staleness that can come from levels and levels of duck, hide, shoot, move forward, etc.  The story is full of intense moments, and I thoroughly enjoyed how each level began and ended.  There are 2-3 Great Moments of the Year in this game (I already know which one I'll choose when I make that post), and that speaks volumes of the quality of the game and it's presentation.  I'll agree with most critics that the single-player campaign is short, but it's plenty for me.  I feel like I've been playing Halo 1 for hours on end, and I'm barely at the halfway mark. 

Labels: games

Link

A 30 year-old Chinese internet user dropped dead after a three day online marathon at a local cybercafe.

“According to preliminary findings, the length of time this man spent online might have triggered heart problems,” the paper quoted a local hospital emergency medic in the city of Zhongshan as saying.

***********************

That line seems really weird - it makes it seem like that he died because he was ONLINE for a long time, as if the status of being at a network-enabled computer increases the chance of personal physical damage. In reality, the thing that triggered the heart problems would be the lack of movement/sleep/healthy foods (of course, coupled with previous state of unhealthiness).

Comments below the article suggest:

"From sitting so long, there is chance of a thrombosis to occur and it blocks an artery and then your going to have a heart attack or stroke. Its the reason that you see suggestions of walking on a plane if your going to be on there for a long flight."

"its likely that he could have had a deep venous thrombosis, leading to a pulmonary embolism…less likely to actually cause an MI or stroke…but i’ve seen stranger things happen."

The article also mentions people in China are able to pay for their online gaming by donating blood as well, but it is a misinformed line. The article it references has a story where people could unlock their banned account by donating blood. I like the concept where someone's banned account is only forgiven with a donation. However, I fear that China's supply of usable blood will now be stricken with extremely high levels of energy drinks, sodas and cheetos.

Actually the best part of this article is the first comment below: "Did he drop any good loot?"

Labels: games

Bozasm: hey
Bozasm: how'd your weekend go?
Jae Goo: it was alright
Jae Goo: cleaning my closet and vacuuming
Jae Goo: building my new fileserver with old p4 machine
Jae Goo: how about you
Bozasm: nice
Bozasm: went to visit my parents
Bozasm: and my dog ate my phone
Jae Goo: i told you, there's a reason why koreans eat dogs
Bozasm: nice

Labels: games, ims

Rock Band song list

When the concept for Rock Band released, I was sure I'd just be a guitar and drum guy (no singing). While I wouldn't mind singing, I wouldn't quite look forward to it. Now looking at this song list, man I can't wait to rock some of them out. One true thing about karaoke - rock songs sound terrible in midi/techno format. With potentially 3 people creating the rocking sounds of Reptilia, Enter Sandman, or Blitzkrieg Bop, I can totally look forward to playing it. I guess I just need to wait until it gets announced for the Wii.

I might get it for PS2, but with no online on the PS2, I'm not sure if it's worth it. I think I'd get it for the Wii -- i'll get Guitar Hero 3 for Wii (plus one guitar) then get Rock Band (it isn't even officially announced yet, but they've said its coming) with the 3 other pieces for the full 4 piece set.

Labels: games